Gun-control group ousts suspected NRA mole

CeaseFire PA's board of directors expelled fellow member Mary McFate yesterday after giving her a week to refute allegations that she was a paid spy for the National Rifle Association.

The gun-control advocacy organization's 16 members voted unanimously, by teleconference and by proxy, to remove McFate, who had been with the organization since its inception in 2002.

McFate was identified last week in a

Mother Jones article as Mary Lou Sapone, named in a 2005 civil trial as a paid operative for the NRA.

"The fact that the NRA feels compelled to plant spies in organizations like ours borders on paranoia," CeaseFire PA president Phil Goldsmith said in a statement. "It reminds me of the days when General Motors spied on Ralph Nader when he was trying to make automobiles safer."

Goldsmith said he tried to contact McFate by e-mail and registered letter over the last week, but received no response.

The board also voted to "explore possible legal action" against McFate, according to the news release, though it was unclear what recourse the group has. Longtime local gun-control activists were puzzled last week at the news, suggesting that McFate provided far more value as a volunteer to the group than she could have provided to the NRA as a mole.

McFate's phone number is now disconnected. Public records show both Mary McFate and Mary Lou Sapone listed under that number. McFate - Sapone's maiden name - could not be reached via e-mail.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) demanded that the NRA address the Mother Jones article.

The NRA, which could not be reached for comment for the past week, did return a phone call yesterday. "We have no comment," said Andrew Arulanandam, the NRA's director of public affairs.

McFate was known for a 1990 case in which she infiltrated an animal rights group on behalf of a surgical equipment company. A woman she befriended was eventually convicted for an attempted pipe-bombing of the company.